1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a backlight assembly having fluorescent lamps and a display device having the backlight assembly.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) display images using electrical and optical characteristics of liquid crystals. LCDs, which are one type of flat panel display, are thin, lightweight, and small-sized. Due to these and other various features, the flat panel displays are widely used in various fields.
Since liquid crystals of an LCD are non light-emitting elements that cannot emit light by themselves, some LCDs use a backlight assembly that provides light to the liquid crystal layer.
A backlight assembly may include, as its light sources, hot cathode fluorescent lamps (HCFLs), cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs), or light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
While LEDs are point light sources, CCFLs and HCFLs are line light sources. In a CCFL, electrons generated by an electric field excite the gas (e.g., mercury) inside a glass tube, and the excited gas produces ultraviolet rays. The ultraviolet rays stimulate a fluorescent material coated on the glass tube, thereby emitting light. CCFLs give off less heat than HCFLs and have a long useful life. On the other hand, in an HCFL, electrons are generated not by an electric field, but by heat. Since HCFLs can provide up to 30% higher luminance than CCFLs with the same power consumption, they are drawing attention as light sources that can replace CCFLs.
An HCFL has two lamp leads at each end thereof while a CCFL has only one lamp lead. Due to this structural difference, an HCFL cannot be mounted in a case using a conventional CCFL, socket. Accordingly, the process of assembling a backlight assembly employing HCFLs is complicated and difficult to automate, thereby increasing the time required to assemble the backlight assembly.